Feeding apparatus.



W. BRUGKMANN.

PBBDING APPARATUS. APP'LIOATION FILED 11017.23, 1912.

Patented July 8, 1913.

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Za'zegsesf IINIT SA'IES PATENT FFICE.

WERNER BRCKMANN', OF BRUNSWICK, GERMANY.

FEEDING APPARATUS.

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To all fic/mm 'it may concern Be it known that I, Immun Ilni'icii- MANN, a citizen of thel l)ucliy of Brunswick, Empire of Germany, residing at Allriinswick, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Apparatus, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to in'iproveinents in feeding apparatus used for example in inachincs for applying closures such as caps to bottles. In feeding appa atus of this class the cap or other article must be fed in a determined position, and for this purpose the apparatus consists of an .inclined feeding gutter and a rotary drinn located at the end of the gutter and adapted to receive the articles, the circun'i't'erence of this drum being provided with one or more openings of a determined form, so that the articles discharged into said drinn froin the gutter can pass through the said openings if they are in the proper position. Those articles which are not in the proper position and do not pass through the openings remain on the circumferential wall of the drinn and are carried upwardly during the rotation of the drinn until they reach the top thereof, whereupon they fall to the bottom of said drum, and this operation is repeated, until the articles are in proper position Vto pass through the openings. In apparatus of this class much inconvenience results from the fact, that the articles falling from the ltop to the bottom of the drinn drop over the aforesaid openings, whereby the proper function of the apparatus is impaired.

The object of the present improvements is lto provide an apparatus of this class in which the articles which are elevated by the rotary drinn do not interfere with the feed ing of the articles entering the drinn from the gutter. WV ith this object in view my invention consists in constructing the drinn in such a way that the falling articles do not drop over the oifJenings7 but on a suitable ledge located in front of the openings, on which ledge articles mingle with the incoming articles and are fed in proper order to the rotary drum.' In the preferred form of the invention the axis of the drinn is inclined in such a way that the top of its circumferential wall overhangs the aforesaid ledge, so that at the moment the articles are dropped from said wall they will fall upon lthe ledge.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 23, 1912.

latented Jul y S, 1913.

Serial No. 733,144.

In order that my invention he more clearly understood an embodiment of the saine has been shown in the accompanying drawing, in which the saine letters of rel"- erence have been used .in all the views to iiidicate corresponding parts.

In said drawing Figure 1l, is a vertical longitudinal section of the ileeding gutter and the rotary drinn, Fig. 2, is a side view of the whole apparatus, and Fig. El is a. fragmental front elevation of the apparatus.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention which has been shown in said drawing, the feeding apparatus consists of an inclined glitter o mounted on oni arm c of a suitable bracket c, `which latter is provided at the opposite side from arm c with a second arm c2 having bearings g wherein a shaft Z is mounted for rotation. '.lliis shaft carries a suitable driving member, such for example as a pulley f, and adjacent to the futter z it carries a drinn At the side adjacent to the gutter a, the said drinn is formed with a conical part 7) constituting the aforc-nientioned ledge, and at one or more parts of its circuniferential wall, it is formed with an opening c which correspends to thev shape of the article to be fed by the apparatus, and which is adapted by' the rotation of the drinn Z) to be brought into registration with a suitable discharge passage z' leading to the place where the article is next needed, the semi-circular upper portion of said passage inc-losing the lower portion of the drinn, so as to insure the articles falling thereinto. As shown in the draiii'ing the shaft (l is inclined downward and toward the gutter rz. lhere'lore the upper part of the circiiiii'lerential wall of the drum directly overhangs the bottoni part of the conical part or ledge l1.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The articles are fed through the guttci' fr into the rotary drinn Those articles which arrive above the opening e in the proper position drop throughv the said opening and into the passage 1'. '.lhe other articles are elevated by the rotary drinn and are dropped thereby so as to fall on the conical part or ledge 71. IVhile in place thereon, the articles arrange themselves among the incoining articles, and are again fed, to the opening c. This operation is repeated, until each article arrives above the opening c in the proper position.

I claim herein as my invention:

l. In an apparatus of the class specified, the combination, with a feeder for the articles; of a hollow rotary element toward which said feeder extends provided with at least one discharge opening; and an inclined ledge interposed between said feeder and said element and leading into the latter, the said element having its top portion in direct over-hanging relation to t-he ledge, whereby articles carried upwardly by said element during its rotation will be caused to fall from said element, on reaching the top thereof, directly upon said ledge and will be again delivered therefrom into said element.

2. In an apparatus of the class specified, the combination, with a feeder for the articles; of a hollow rotary element toward which said feeder extends provided with at least one discharge opening in its circumferential wall, and with a hollow conical extension tapering toward said feeder and` into which the latter delivers said articles, the said element having the top portion of said wall in direct overhanging relation to the bottom portion of the wall of said extension, whereby articles carried upwardly by said element during its rotation will be caused to fall from said top portion, on reaching the same, directly upon the said bottom portion of said extension and will be again delivered therefrom into said element.

3. In an apparatus .of the class specified, the combination of a hollow rotary element having a discharge opening in its circumferential wall; and means for conveying articles into the interior of said element, the lat-ter having the top portion of its aforesaid wall in direct overhanging relation to the delivery end of said conveying means,

whereby articles carried upwardly by said element during its rotation will be caused to fall from said top portion, on reaching the same, directly upon said end and will be again delivered therefrom into said element.

4. In an apparatus of the class specified, the combination of a hollow rotary element having a discharge opening in its circumferential wall; a feeder extending toward said element; and a delivery member interposed between said feeder and said element and leading to the latter, said element having the top portion of its aforesaid wall in direct overhanging relation to that member, whereby articles car 1ied upwardly by said element during its rotation will be caused to fall from said top portion, on reaching the same, directly upon said delivery member and will be again delivered therefrom 60 into said element.

5. In an apparatus of the character specified, the combination of a hollow rotary element having its axis inclined downwardly, the circumferential wall l of said element '6.5 being provided with a discharge opening; means for feeding articles to said element; and a member leading into said element and disposed directly beneath the top portion of the aforesaid wall, for catching and delivering into said element the articles carried upwardly by the latter during its rotation and falling from the said top portion of said wall on reaching such portion.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WERNER BRCKMANN.

IVitnesses v:

WILHELM LEHRKE, KARL MUNDT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

